02-01-2018, 07:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-01-2018, 07:02 PM by Andy Bennett.)
I ventured out on our New Year's Day run with a slightly pleased look on my face, having fitted my new Electronic Ingition Distributor and being happy with its tweaked timing.
Life was all good until about 20 miles in and a spluttering and loss of power. With the head gasket suspect we took a ride home at the excellent hands of RH and SOS services. Not so pleased with myself anymore.
Today and a compression test showed zilch compression on 2 and 3 so it was off with the head.
The head gasket was last replaced about 4 years ago. I tightened then to 20lb, (repeating after a run), but it did feel like some were looser than others when undoing them today, so perhaps they had loosened off?
This time I decided to be a little more delicate about removal so made myself some extractors using hollowed out spark plugs and plates across the studs.
This left the gasket in place and revealed below, a missing chunk between 2 and 3. I cannot see it anywhere (it isn't on the head). I haven't yet poked in every corner in the valve area but it is not obviously there. Surely it couldn't have vapourised or been sucked away into the water cooling system.
gasket.jpg (Size: 297.14 KB / Downloads: 686)
Anyway, that curiosity aside my real question is as follows.
Prior to this failure I had noticed some bubbling around head stud 3 (centre back). Nothing too bad but just blowing a few water bubbles from around the stud.
With the head off it seems right to also do something about this. Stud 3 doesn't have any water way around it and is well away from the failure so I guess the water is coming up around the stud thread. The solution would seem easy, remove it and replace (I have spares) with threadlocker to seal.
However, under gentle persuasion it does not want to move. I have locked a couple of nuts on it and turned but it is solid.
Given the problem I am trying to solve, do I:
Persevere with the spanner and risk snapping the head stud, opening up a whole new world of problems?
Heat it up, but I only have a pretty large brazing torch so it won't be delicate, although I could make up some baffle to protect the surrounding areas?
Try to clean up the top of the stud thread into the block and then dribble down thread locker, appreciating that I am only going to get down a half thread or so, and then back it up with lots of goo around the stud base to seal it off?
For goo, I know that is a whole thread of its own, but I have red Hermatite, blue hylomar and some Loctite 5920. Last time I used the blue hylomar.
Thoughts appreciated on the stud question.
Oh and Happy New Year
Andy B
Life was all good until about 20 miles in and a spluttering and loss of power. With the head gasket suspect we took a ride home at the excellent hands of RH and SOS services. Not so pleased with myself anymore.
Today and a compression test showed zilch compression on 2 and 3 so it was off with the head.
The head gasket was last replaced about 4 years ago. I tightened then to 20lb, (repeating after a run), but it did feel like some were looser than others when undoing them today, so perhaps they had loosened off?
This time I decided to be a little more delicate about removal so made myself some extractors using hollowed out spark plugs and plates across the studs.
This left the gasket in place and revealed below, a missing chunk between 2 and 3. I cannot see it anywhere (it isn't on the head). I haven't yet poked in every corner in the valve area but it is not obviously there. Surely it couldn't have vapourised or been sucked away into the water cooling system.
gasket.jpg (Size: 297.14 KB / Downloads: 686)
Anyway, that curiosity aside my real question is as follows.
Prior to this failure I had noticed some bubbling around head stud 3 (centre back). Nothing too bad but just blowing a few water bubbles from around the stud.
With the head off it seems right to also do something about this. Stud 3 doesn't have any water way around it and is well away from the failure so I guess the water is coming up around the stud thread. The solution would seem easy, remove it and replace (I have spares) with threadlocker to seal.
However, under gentle persuasion it does not want to move. I have locked a couple of nuts on it and turned but it is solid.
Given the problem I am trying to solve, do I:
Persevere with the spanner and risk snapping the head stud, opening up a whole new world of problems?
Heat it up, but I only have a pretty large brazing torch so it won't be delicate, although I could make up some baffle to protect the surrounding areas?
Try to clean up the top of the stud thread into the block and then dribble down thread locker, appreciating that I am only going to get down a half thread or so, and then back it up with lots of goo around the stud base to seal it off?
For goo, I know that is a whole thread of its own, but I have red Hermatite, blue hylomar and some Loctite 5920. Last time I used the blue hylomar.
Thoughts appreciated on the stud question.
Oh and Happy New Year
Andy B
Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!